national security – Page 5 – No Fricking Fracking

Understanding the human side of climate change relocation

This article discusses the human side of climate change relocation.

Climate change is expected to have a striking impact on vulnerable communities, especially in coastal regions where sea-level rise and increased climatic events will make it impossible for some people to remain on their land.

In Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Carteret Islands are facing intense environmental degradation, coastal erosion and food and water insecurity due to anthropogenic climate change and tectonic activity.

Since 1994, the islanders of the seven atolls, lying only 1.2 metres above sea level, have already lost about 50 per cent of their land. Traditional food sources have become scarce, regularly placing the islanders in situations of near famine. The communities also face severe water shortages due to prolonged droughts and sea-level rises that affect their freshwater supply.

Climate Change Forcing Military to Reconsider Its Priorities, Top Officials Say

This article discusses how Climate Change is forcing the military to reconsider its priorities. Recent devastating storms in North Carolina have prompted the Navy and Marine Corps to review how it manages its most critical resources, according to two officials tapped to lead those services.

THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE change have forced top officials within the Navy and Marine Corps to reconsider how they manage their most critical resources and facilities, despite an apparent Defense Department-wide shift away from viewing the issue as critical for national security.

“The two biggest challenges are the rising water levels and severe storms that roll up the coast and through our bases and stations,” Marine Lt. Gen. David Berger, tapped to become the corps’ next top officer, told the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday, when asked about the effects of climate change.

ELIZABETH WARREN PRESSES PENTAGON ON ITS PLANNING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

This The Intercept article discusses how Elizabeth Warren is pressing GAO and the Pentagon to disclose what it is doing to counter climate change.

Specifically, Warren and Reed have asked the GAO to investigate three questions:

To what extent does climate change pose a threat to facilities and operations of key private sector DoD contractors, and how do contractors’ climate change vulnerabilities affect military operations and readiness?
To what extent are contractors required to disclose, either to the public, to financial regulators, or to DoD, any potential threats to their facilities or operations as a result of climate change?
To what extent do DoD contracting officials, during the procurement process, take into consideration (1) the actions taken by contractors to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions and their history of compliance with the nation’s environmental laws; (2) the potential threats of contractors’ facilities and operations as a result of climate change.

Multiple articles from Yale Climate Connection

These Yale Climate Connection articles discuss:

Why it’s not good to ignore people’s emotions about climate change. Many people feel helplessness, hopelessness, anger, and fear when they hear about the topic.
How to talk about climate change at social gatherings. A guide to bringing up the topic without turning into Debbie Downer.
Should a Green New Deal include nuclear power? Nuclear plants provide carbon-free electricity, but it wouldn’t be easy to build new ones in the U.S.
New research suggests climate change could enable mosquitoes to evolve more rapidly. That could worsen the spread of mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, dengue, and Zika. Researchers from the University of Bath, University of York, and China Agricultural University recently published a study in Communications Biology explaining how climate change could bring mosquito-borne diseases to areas where these diseases had previously been eradicated and also to entirely new areas.
Climate change poses security risks, according to decades of intelligence reports. Intelligence analysts have agreed since the late 80s that climate change poses serious security risks.

How Climate Change Is Fueling the U.S. Border Crisis

This New Yorker article discusses how Climate Change is fueling the U.S. Border Crisis. In the western highlands of Guatemala, the question is no longer whether someone will leave but when. This is the first piece in a series on the forces driving migration from Guatemala. You can read the second installment here.

A climate migration crisis is escalating in Bangladesh

This article discusses how climate change is forcing Bangladesh people to migrate away from flooding.

Nearly 80 percent of Bangladesh sits in a flood plain, near the rising seas. Ice melting in the Himalayas is coming down through its rivers, increasing the volume of water and leading to increased riverbank erosion. Saltwater intrusion from the sea level rise is poisoning crops and fishing areas. And even while annual tropical storms and cyclones continue to hit Bangladesh, the northern part of the country is experiencing drought.

Floods show national security threat posed by climate change

This article discusses how floods, exacerbated by climate change, are impacting national security. The Missouri River floodwater surging on to the air base housing the U.S. military’s Strategic Command overwhelmed round-the-clock sandbagging by airmen and others. They had to scramble to save sensitive equipment, munitions and dozens of aircraft.

Why ex-military leaders are trying to stop Trump’s panel to counter climate science

This article discusses why ex-military leaders are trying to stop Trump’s panel to counter climate science. Fifty-eight former high-ranking military and intelligence officials issued a stern warning to the White House: Think twice about creating a panel to counter the government’s own findings that climate change poses a threat to national security.

They are objecting to plans by top administration officials to convene an ad hoc group of select federal scientists to scrutinize and potentially dispute the conclusions of recent federal climate reports.

Climate change, wars, and migration – threats to world stability

This article discusses how climate change will fuel more wars and displacement in the Middle East, experts warn. Terrorist organisations like ISIS capitalize on climate change to get new members. The most volatile region in the world is about to be plunged into further chaos because of climate change, academics and international officials warned at a conference on Tuesday. Food scarcity and water shortages will add to the flood of displaced people, sparking wars and providing opportunities for extremist groups, they said. These developments will mean 7 to 10 million people in the Middle East and North Africa will be forced to leave their ancestral or temporary homes over the next decade, a UN development official predicted.

A second article discusses why climate change is an ‘imminent’ security threat. Climate change threats – from worsening water shortages in Iraq and Pakistan to harsher hurricanes in the Caribbean – are a growing security risk and require concerted action to ensure they don’t spark new violence, security experts warned Tuesday.

A third article discusses White House prepares to scrutinize intelligence agencies’ finding that climate change threatens national security. William Happer is leading this. Read what DeSmogBlog says about this “scientist”.

A fourth article discusses why climate change is a threat to world order, Munich Security Conference hears

The Pessimist’s Guide to 2019, Fire, Floods, and Famine

This article discusses a Bloomberg artice titled “The Pessimist’s Guide to 2019, Fire, Floods, and Famine”. It provides a scary scenario that could happen. Let’s hope not.

It’s the end of 2019 and America’s bountiful harvest is in. But President Donald Trump is facing a crisis few contemplated the year before: a food shortage almost everywhere else in the world.

The seeds were sown after an unexpectedly severe El Niño and widespread droughts diminished food production around the world, roiling trade patterns already broken by a tariff war. Hunger was rampant and refugees were on the move.

Attention turned toward North America, where crop yields were ample and supplies plentiful. The U.S. was in a position to help. What would the president decide?

If what you are about to read sounds far-fetched, remember this: All the weather disasters and most of the policy scenarios described here have happened in the past. Just not at once.